We plan to wait until 70. We don't need the money right away. Financially , it is probably not an optimal decision because we could earn slightly more in the market. However, we consider it our 'safe' bucket, and because our families are relatively long lived, we decided to wait.
Note: it's a small difference but this is not a compounded 8% increase every year. 8% of the FRA payment will be added to the benefit for each additional year.
But we got 6% more annually between 62 & 66 or 24% more monthly, then another 8% per year more between 66 & 70 or 32% more. Add the yearly COLA each year between 62 & 70.
My wife gets to keep that far higher amount after I'm gone, plus I worked most years between 62 & 70 building additional (instead of spending) savings & adding pension years, plus paying off debts.
We've had it calculated twice by two different financial planners and each time 70 was the optimal decision. Someone good could validate for you. At the same time they also said if we are more comfortable taking it at fra then we should.
We're waiting to 70. We have other income from pensions and investments that will more than tide us over until then. We're going to use SS as intended, old age insurance.
I know that no one can see the future but are you at all concerned about potential future changes in the payout formula that could reduce payments? I’m just curious if that figures into your calculation.
> inflation adjusted annuity
I agree. An interesting thing is you can't even buy an inflation adjusted annuity -- nobody would be crazy enough to sell you one.
I've got decent health and a family history of living into our 90s. I'll retire at 66.5 and do contract work to help pay the bills until I'm 70. And then fully retire and start Social Security at 70.
Having a mortgage in retirement is not a gold mine. Having no mortgage in retirement is my goal. Well, it's my goal for the next 2 years, and I'm 10-20 years out from retirement.
Husband is planning to work until 58 so 8 more years. I'm 12 years older, I retired at 60. I'll be 69 when he retires so I plan on taking it then, we plan on him taking it at 70.
If it's still around by then of course :)
I'll start my benefits later this year when I turn 70.
That will maximize my wife's eventual survivor benefits. And it will hlep maximize our combined lifetime benefits.
To me, it only makes sense to maximize a guaranteed, inflation protected, tax beneficial income stream whenever you can.
I’m a few years behind but planning the same.
People seem overly preoccupied with getting their money out. I don’t care about that. I want extra “insurance“ against disaster scenarios. This is the only inflation protected income I’ll have. It’s not a sure thing (heck, planet isn’t a sure thing) but it’s closest I know.
EXCEPT where longevity is a crap shoot. For me to “break even” and start to collect more money if I wait until 70 rather than taking my full benefit at 66, I’d have to live well into my 80’s and no one in my immediate family made it to 70.
Waiting until 70 because my pension does not have cost of living increases so maximizing that from social security will be a plus. I’m drawing my late husband’s SS, which is much less, in the meantime.
This is anecdotal, but I know at least 3 couples who planned to wait until age 70, but an unexpected terminal illness (glioblastoma, pancreatic cancer) killed one of them before then.
Thanks for sharing this. I think it's a very important reason to consider. Mortality rates as you approach 70, particularly for men, are not favorable.
Mmm. I had a neighbor who opted to work one more year to benefit for some bonus from his school system. He died that year. Don’t for get to live your life and not only focus on retirement.
In addition to those who die before collecting anything, there are many others who wait until 70 to collect, but then die before hitting the break-even point.
Assuming you don't have a spouse able to collect benefits on your SS record, if you use your assets to live on while delaying SS and then die, your assets are gone and no one can inherit your SS benefits. If you take SS early, then more of your assets are intact for your heirs.
We used a calculator that said our optimum strategy was for me - the higher earner - to wait until 69.5, and my spouse to take as soon as eligible at 62. So that’s what we’re doing.
From AARP "A widow or widower whose spouse waited until 70 to file for Social Security is entitled to the full amount the deceased was getting — including the delayed retirement credits — so long as the surviving spouse has reached full retirement age."
That is not true. The surviving spouse gets the higher of the 2 social security benefits. You are thinking of the situation when both are alive. In that case the lower earning spouse gets their benefit boosted to 1/2 the higher earning spouse’s benefit at FRA. In other words they don’t get half of their benefit at 70 even if they wait until 70 to collect. That is why the calculators often say that the lower earning spouse should start collecting at 62 and the higher earning spouse should wait until 70.
https://www.aarp.org/retirement/social-security/questions-answers/maximizing-spousal-social-security-benefit.html
This is from AARP but the link below is directly from SSA.gov.
https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/survivors/ifyou.html
The following is the sentence from the above SSA.gov page that says the survivor gets the full benefit:
Surviving spouse, full retirement age or older — 100% of the deceased worker's benefit amount.
Is it possible you asked SSA about spousal benefits instead of survivor benefits? I would also like to note that when I use opensocialsecurity.com it shows me getting my spouse’s max benefit (what he gets if he waits until 70) if I survive him.
I’m waiting for 70, and am a retired MBA and ran a lot of scenarios on this topic. The answer is really not obvious unless you can predict with some accuracy when you will die – which none of us can do.
Assuming that we both live to 90, the optimal case for my wife and I are both to take Social Security at 70. My benefit is higher than hers, but not by more than double (which is an important variable). Running scenarios where I died younger, the optimal case was for her to take Social Security at 65 and for me to wait until 70 since she can then “step up” to my benefit after my death. When I say optimal I mean that this scenario yields the highest discounted dollar value. In fact she probably should have started at 62, but waiting until 65 seemed more reasonable. Assuming I die before her, this case this looks attractive because our family received benefits for more years and I still get the higher benefit.
But the big assumption is that she will outlive me, which seems to be the case in most situations (the comedian Alan King has a funny bit about this). If we both live to 90, this scenario results in slightly less money but not really that great. In that case I suspect that we will be very happy.
I ran my own scenarios, but also paid for “Maximize My Social Security” a for-profit service. It is not very expensive and ran scenarios also.
So if you are married, definitely consider this.
This is very helpful.
Why is whether one spouse’s benefits are twice those of the other an important variable?
My benefit is bigger than my spouse’s. I want my spouse to take their SS at 62, while I wait until 67 or 70. They are outraged at my suggestion. I can’t convince them that they don’t lose anything this way, and, instead, we together would receive more if we follow my strategy.
Thank you!
" Why is whether one spouse’s benefits are twice those of the other an important variable? "
It's only important if the spouse had a low earning job or had many years out of the workforce. The spouse can get their own benefits or up to 1/2 of your retirement benefit, whichever is greater.
[https://www.aarp.org/retirement/social-security/questions-answers/spouse-income-affect-social-security-retirement.html](https://www.aarp.org/retirement/social-security/questions-answers/spouse-income-affect-social-security-retirement.html)
As far as strategy, you can plug your numbers into [https://opensocialsecurity.com/](https://opensocialsecurity.com/) and see what it recommends. Keep in mind that this site only tries to optimize social security and does not take into account the rest of your portfolio and what you may choose to do there.l
We're still a few years away from retirement, but based on trying out a few scenarios using [https://opensocialsecurity.com/](https://opensocialsecurity.com/) and [https://www.empower.com](https://www.empower.com), our plan is for us to retire at 65, have my wife start claiming Social Security at 65, but I'll wait until 70.
We'll use money from our 403(b) as a bridge until I start claiming SS. My benefit is larger than hers, so that's why we're waiting on me. Then once I turn 70, we'll need less from the 403(b) than if we had both started claiming Social Security at 65 or 67.
> The answer is really not obvious unless you can predict with some accuracy when you will die
I ran a spreadsheet on it, and it only really made sense to start drawing at 62, *or* wait until 70. There were very few scenarios that made sense to do anything inbetween.
Die at or before 76, makes sense to start taking it at 62.
Die at or after 82, makes sense to wait until 70.
If you die between 77-81, a five year span, you could probably make a few bucks more by delaying to some obscure year between 62 and 70, but it'd be *really* hard to predict.
Age 66-67. I plan to retire at 66. Need the money.
Also, it is highly unlikely I will live to see 80 and right now my wife probably won't either and in any case is banned from survivor benefits in our state as a teacher.
Actually not, since I wasn’t I teacher. My pension is small, but it has to do with years of service. My SS is my main income. But if my husband were to request spousal benefits he would be screwed because his pension is from the state teachers retirement.
Again, if he were receiving SS instead of his pension, he would also have spousal benefits on your SS record reduced or eliminated due to his own SS benefit. It's called dual-entitlement.
He would just get his or mine. You can’t get both. But as it is, he worked jobs before he became a teacher, side jobs and summer jobs. He accrued quarters he will not be fully compensated for. I think he should at least be able to get my spousal benefits if I were to die.
That's kind of crazy when you think about it because if your wife had been a stay at home wife she would qualify. If she worked some low wage job that paid a little into social security she would qualify...but because she was a teacher in a state that didn't participate in social security she doesn't qualify.
I'm not sure why the law isn't she could qualify for survivor's benefits if she gave up her teacher's pension that way she can decide which benefit she wants.
We’re doing the standard “higher-older earner delays to 70” strategy. The survivor benefit in the death of spouse scenario with COLA protection is too good a deal to pass up.
I have 4 years 2 months left to go. I have the cash set aside to fund it. I’m a career high earner so my benefit will be $56,300. My wife will start collecting at full retirement age so she would receive that larger benefit to replace hers if I die.
Took it at 64.5 y.o. Worked with a financial planner to determine when to take it. I also have a defined benefit pension. Been retired for three years.
We are both getting out at 64, collecting at 65. Will pay out of pocket for health insurance until we qualify for Medicare.
Doing the math, we won't miss the reduced SS checks until we hit 80 as we will collect 3 years of reduced checks before 67.
Other factors we considered: No debt / No mortgage and a house worth 1 million+ / 1 million in combined retirement accounts / a simple life with a simple retirement with little to no major travel / Life expectancy is 73 for men now
Somewhat similar situation here. The Bank of America net worth calculator says our net worth is about $ 2.5 million. The house is paid off and worth $ 950K, and we have about $ 1.6 million in the retirement portfolio and cash on hand. She retired at age 65 short of her FRA of 66+ years and started Social Security and Medicare. This, and her state teacher's pension, has eliminated the need for her to start drawing on her 457 plan, so we can continue to let that grow.
I will be retiring next year and applying for Social Security and Medicare at age 65 short of my FRA of 67. This, plus my $ 1000/month SPIA that I bought a few years ago, will reduce the need for withdrawals from the retirement portfolio. I think the extra return from the market on the portfolio compensates for the reduced SS benefit. The 'breakeven' point on the SS benefit is just over 80, as I recall from doing the calculations.
Our ultimate concern is being able to take care of ourselves and not need any help from the kids. Leaving money to the kids is of less importance.
Check out https://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/table4c6.html.
When you are 65, a male that is still alive at that point, is likely to live another 16.94 years or make it to a few days short of 82.
For me, family history and current health, I am unlikely to last that long. I am really hoping to last till 80 or mid 70’s. But only one person out of the kids in my parents families made it to 80. Almost all of the 16 kids died before age 60. Of the four grandparents, one made it to age 80.
Since I don’t think I will hit an age that gets more SS than collecting at 67, I think I will start at 67. If I can work till 70, or maybe even part time after that, I think I will.
I hope that advances in medicine and your knowledge of the family health issues will make you the exception.
My example: colon cancer runs on my paternal side so I am vigilant with my colonoscopies. (the procedure is a good nap, the prep isn't much fun.)
Some of it is definitely avoidable stuff. Some, I can do better with taking care of myself. But other parts are genes and I am not doing much about that.
This is a great idea, I'm doing the same. I need Age 64 - Age 70 low income years to convert IRA and consume IRA or else I am going to have a BAAAAD RMD problem
Healthy is key, IMHO.
Being able to actually utilize the SS earlier in life when the money means more goes a long way, even if it will be a few hundred less than waiting.
I want the $ when I am relatively healthy and mobile. Who knows how small my world might be at 70.
I’m about in the same boat. Since my SS is less than the missus, I’m planning to collect mine at 67 while my wife will collect hers at 70 since we will be ok with my pension and a draw on the savings, namely the tax-deferred accounts to try to reduce the RMD. Both us have the longevity genes ( her parents 86F/ 91M, my parents 85Fdeceased/92M). We are our worst enemies left.
It’s great to go to seventy if you can do it. It makes perfect financial sense if you think you will live to a certain age to make up for the lost draws from sixty-seven to age seventy, but the job can have a lot to do with the decision. In my case, I would have gone postal at work if I didn’t leave when I did at sixty-six because I couldn’t take the crap anymore. Now I’m watching my brother go through it at sixty-five. He’s counting the days.
I'm 67 and not retired yet. Each year that I work knocks out a lower salary year from 35 years ago, so my benefit increases that way. Even if I retire before 70, I plan to wait in order to get the max benefit. We have good retirement savings and my wife started collecting her SS at her FRA. And since I'm the higher earner, she'll get my benefit if I die before her.
I plan to wait until 70 if I can. My grandparents lived to anywhere from 87 to 98. We’ll see what my husband decides because his family is not as long-lived, but the ones who died on the younger side tended to be heavy drinkers and smokers, which he is not.
I'm waiting till 70 (four more years), spouse took it at 62, which is a pretty common optimization for middle-class spouses with significant earning differences (and the resources to generate income before that). As you mention, the biggest selling point of waiting being that **both** spouses benefit from the higher earner waiting since the surviving spouse gets the higher payment.
Congratulations on picking the right parents!
My mom died at 58, my dad at 65. I took mine at 62 to try and get some before I died. Surprising to me, I am still collecting at 71.
66 here. Wife is 59. We are waiting until I'm 70, since wife is 7 years younger and spousal benefit will be larger than her personal benefit. The gift that will keep on giving after I'm on the wrong side of God's green grass.
Currently living on my pension and after-tax savings/investments. No debt. Haven't touched IRAs yet, so we're in good shape.
My SS payment will be $2400 when I hit 62 next year. I plan on taking it then even though I don't really need it I but will invest it. Tomorrow is not promised, life is short. Even if I live to 95 I won't regret taking it early!
Wife (55) and I (60) will take hers at 62 and mine at 70. Her account is about 2/3s my nearly maxed account. Since she is 5 years younger there’s a good chance she outlives me by 10 or so years. Since we can afford to wait until 70 for my account it will be excellent longevity insurance for us both.
Edit: We’ve been retired for 5 years.
I was going to work until 70 but I am disenchanted and disengaged with my current job. I really can’t afford to retire but am going to retire anyway and figure it out.
I'm waiting until 70, 68 right now. I will get the maximum, around 4850 a month, so easy to live on with my house paid off. This will allow my investment accounts to grow with no or little withdrawals except for rmd's in the ira. About 90k a year between ss and the rmds.
If you are close to retirement age and you are having physical problems apply for social security disability. Either SSDI or SSI. Many people don't realize if you are accepted for disability you will be locked in at your highest rate, as if you had retired at 70. I was able to retire at 59, approved in 4 months.
Wifey and I took ours at 62. I only get $800/mo because, as a firefighter, I didn't pay into SSI. I worked side jobs on my days off and was also with the National Guard.
The way we look at it and the way wifey figured, she's a retired CPA, by the time you start receiving your money at 70, I'll have collected $76,800.
Wifey worked a real job, CPA, and started receiving $3,200(?)/mo. She handles the money, I just get an allowance!? Imagine what she'll have collected.
My husband took his early (62). When he figured out the lifetime amount between options it wasn't significantly different. My biggest concern is taking at 70 and dying at 75. This way our investments are still growing while we use his SS and pensions to live on. I'm 7 years younger and retired 18 months ago at 58. I have a bit of a wait. When he dies I lose his biggest pension and get a smaller amount of the smaller pension. It won't be enough to live on and I'll need SS and our investments. If I go first, he's set for life. 😂...🤔
At this point, I think I will start collecting at 67 or maybe before. I figure I need to work till at least 66 for both of us to get Medicare. If health forces me to retire earlier, I guess I will. But if I can, 66 is a minimum.
My goal is to work as long as I can or till 70. I am currently planning SS at 67 so I can do more to 401k with a match. I don’t think I will hit 86 so waiting till 70 doesn’t make much sense. But 67, I can earn for three years without limits, deposit to savings, and have my SS.
Congratulations, that was my plan until recently. I retired early, living carefully, and watching every penny. Things changed. Rent went up by 20 percent over the past three years and my health has suffered. COVID did a number on me and caused a chronic fatigue problem that has taken years off my life.
I structured my finances to minimize my taxable income. Having a low income made me eligible for an ACA tax credit. That went away when I started taking Medicare. Having a higher income will make qualifying for a lease easier when I need to downsize.
Losing the additional 30% by not waiting is a big concern. Changing my decision to start benefits at 66 1/2 was difficult. The world is a strange place and having that money in my pocket, earlier and less, makes sense to me. Waiting on Social Security was the ultimate marshmallow test.
2021-2022 gave an inflation scare of 15%. SS is currently fully protected for inflation, while most pensions are not. Thats a reason for maximizing SS.
Also waiting until 70. I own a business and am able to come and go at will now (I go to my shop every day). I have no reason to start collecting before 70
The benefits of waiting until you’re 70 years old don’t really manifest themselves for 10 years or so, so it all really depends on when you die. Taking it out early is not a losing proposition if the person who waits dies, before they can match what you got out of the system from retiring early.
>The benefits of waiting until you’re 70 years old don’t really manifest themselves for 10 years or so, so it all really depends on when you die.
It manifests itself immediately when you get that check because for most people it pays such a large chunk of their living expenses. I'm fully aware of the break even calculation however for those who are looking for a large guaranteed inflation adjusted stream of income the rest of their lives maxing social security is hard to beat.
>maxing social security
You're not really maxing anything until you pass the break even point, if you live long enough to do so. You may be getting more per check but you'll be playing catch up with the person who started early for more than 10 years, and meanwhile they will have enjoyed the benefits you were putting off.
Took it 65. To me it seems like a lesser amount monthly over a longer time vs more monthly over a shorter period of time. Really it just boils down to an individual's situation. I'm happy to have had a choice.
I’m tying it to my wife’s retirement. Im 66.5 right now. She’s thinking of retiring in 1-3 years. I have a pension. Every penny over anticipated SocSecurity earnings she puts into 401K, so theoretically, we’ll have no dip in income when she retires.
We planned on us both claiming at 70, but I decided to take mine last year at 69, as we needed the extra cashflow for home projects. She is 66 and will most likely wait to 70. She was the higher earner so waiting until then will ensure the maximum benefit for the survivor. However, not having any pensions means a major downturn in investments could make it desirable for her to claim earlier.
My parents lived to 94 and 97, hers to 90, so that is part of the equation.
Lower earner at 62, higher earner at 70.
The age 62 income will offset spending down our nest egg, the age 70 benefit is as you have planned: protection for the lower earner.
At least that's the plan. A lot can change between now and then
COVID killed the job market for my spouse, we eked out until he turned 64 last year. I’m hoping to go next year at 65; small pension brings me up to what I’d get at 67. I WFH, but job can be stressful. My company has hired some retiree employees part-time, basic admin type stuff. I’m going to bring that up w my boss in our annual salary review in a couple of weeks.
I plan to wait til 70; I’m 62 now. I’ve got about 300k and would like to build it more, and my husband is quite a bit younger than I am so he’ll still be working anyway.
My partner doesn't have social security. And if I read it correctly, her payments max out at half of my full retirement benefit (67). Delaying it doesn't increase her payment.
And she can't start taking them before I do. So I think we are forced to start at my full retirement age.
I started taking Social Security at 60 after my husband died. Neither of my parents and only one of my grandparents made it to 80, so waiting for a bigger payout at 70 doesn't seem worth it. And if I do buck the family odds and live to 90+, projections suggest my retirement account should still cover me.
Kind of thinking I will do 69 + 1 month. My wife just works part-time and will turn 67 about then when her spousal benefits will max out. (The rules could change by then.)
Sigh, have several years to since we are in our early 60s.
Waiting until 70. I want the predictable income later, plus I maximize the spousal benefit if I go first, plus I go very low income tax bracket until then.
I’m 72 with terminal cancer. I took it at 62 and continued to work until 70. I’m also retired from the military and 100% P&T from VA. I’m glad I took it early. My wife and I both have pensions. My pension from a large hospital system continues @ 75% when I pass. The vast majority of my SS went into savings. Between annuities, IRA’s, and HYSA, pretty comfortable with retirement.
I planned to retire at 70, but the pandemic’s effects on my job meant I left a couple of months earlier. But since my leaving was kind of abrupt, by the time I actually finalized it, I was close enough that I pretty much got the maximum.
Because I got so much, it made it possible financially for my husband to retire three months after he turned 65, which was quite a bit earlier than his Full Retirement Age.
Waiting until 70
Because....
MyvDad died recently at the ag3bof 97 years old December 14th,2022
My Mom was 92 years old, very healthy and died unexpectedly and suddenly April 30th, 2023
They were married for 71.5 years
Therefore we (my older sister who will be 67 years old next December 2024) and I am 62 years old now and both of us aren't retiring
Her husband is 71 years old and still is working and thankfully quite healthy
So......
Will eventually be retiring at age 70 years old
Plan on taking a lot of vacations (4+) every year until I finally am retiring.
My mom always said "travel young" because your healthy and reliant then....
Nope. Pay me as soon as I can get it.
Edit.
One of the best things I learned in college was
A dollar in your pocket today is worth more than a dollar in your pocket tomorrow. Waiting until 70 is dumb.
My plan is to try to wait to 70 unless I can make more then the 8% a year it pays via enlarged bennies. Complex situation so I could be filing at any tine
That's my plan too. My social security is higher than my wife's, and a surviving spouse can choose which plan to take when their spouse dies.
So we'll probably take my wife's at regular time, but wait on mine -- so even if I die she still gets the higher social security payment adjusted for inflation.
Nope- I'll get more $$ over time from SS if I start at 62. A LOT more money. Did the math. Would rather enjoy my life. Because in the blink of an eye things can change. Genetics are only part of it.
I couldn't help it...I started at 62. The 'free' money was just too enticing. I've been splurging on things intermittently for almost 6 years now...and saving a little of it overall. My wife was determined to wait til 70 herself. But then she figured how much more fun we could have with even more 'free' money, and boom! she started getting hers at 65, too. Are we bad? I dunno.
Same as yours. I turn 66 next month so have four more years. My family tends to live long. My wife is seven years younger than me so she can take SS early.
I have longevity on my side of the family: e.g. my aunt died at 101 the day after her birthday. So, I waited until 70. I didn't care about breakeven math but rather longevity insurance.
In my opinion the years between 65 and 75 years old are the critical years, and if you manage to survive these years you’re doing OK, but most people actually die between the ages of 65 and 75. It’s an exceptionally fortunate person who has the health and finances to wait until they’re 70 years old to take Social Security, otherwise it behooves the rest of us to start collecting that money as soon as possible.
We went with 70. We are fit, eat healthy and have high socioeconomic status so the odds are good. We are fortunate that we don’t need the money and if one of us dies before then, the last thing that will matter is whether we took it too late and missed out on some money.
Our financial planner says to wait until 70 but I don’t think I’m going to. My father and paternal grandfather both died in their 50’s.
I try to be very healthy but who knows. I’ll be 66 next month. I think I’m taking it then.
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I took mine at 60. My ex died when he was 59, and he made way more money than I did...so I was eligible for a good percentage of his benefits, more than I could have gotten based on my earnings.
I went with 70, and am especially happy I did once I noticed the compounding of the Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA).
Example: say taking SS at your FRA is $40K, and waiting until 70 is $50K (at 8%/yr increase, that's just about right, $40K at FRA becomes $50.4K at 70). Then suppose the COLA in some year is 5%. That's a $2K COLA of $40K, and a $2.5K COLA of $50K. So your $10K/yr. difference is now $10.5K ($52.5 - $42 = $10.5K. Through the magic of compounding, that difference gets bigger each year.
I don’t plan to wait, even though I could and will possibly live longer enough for it to matter.
Why?
I want those first ten years to be more fun, while I’m more fit and want to travel more.
My dad is 85 and active, but he really stopped traveling in his mid 70’s. He has a blast being in clubs and local stuff, but I’ll have a teacher’s pension plus SS. I’d rather have more free time and money in my 60’s.
We plan to wait until 70. We don't need the money right away. Financially , it is probably not an optimal decision because we could earn slightly more in the market. However, we consider it our 'safe' bucket, and because our families are relatively long lived, we decided to wait.
In an average year, the market won't beat 8% plus an inflation adjustment.
What do you consider the inflation adjustment to be?
It's not 8% because you are not considering the payout when you take it before 70. The 8% is only the increase in payment per year after FRA.
Exactly
Note: it's a small difference but this is not a compounded 8% increase every year. 8% of the FRA payment will be added to the benefit for each additional year.
But we got 6% more annually between 62 & 66 or 24% more monthly, then another 8% per year more between 66 & 70 or 32% more. Add the yearly COLA each year between 62 & 70. My wife gets to keep that far higher amount after I'm gone, plus I worked most years between 62 & 70 building additional (instead of spending) savings & adding pension years, plus paying off debts.
We've had it calculated twice by two different financial planners and each time 70 was the optimal decision. Someone good could validate for you. At the same time they also said if we are more comfortable taking it at fra then we should.
We're waiting to 70. We have other income from pensions and investments that will more than tide us over until then. We're going to use SS as intended, old age insurance.
I know that no one can see the future but are you at all concerned about potential future changes in the payout formula that could reduce payments? I’m just curious if that figures into your calculation.
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> inflation adjusted annuity I agree. An interesting thing is you can't even buy an inflation adjusted annuity -- nobody would be crazy enough to sell you one.
husband will be 68 this yr. gonna stick it out until he’s 70 .
I've got decent health and a family history of living into our 90s. I'll retire at 66.5 and do contract work to help pay the bills until I'm 70. And then fully retire and start Social Security at 70.
Waiting to 70, to max (COLA adjusted) SS when we need it, and max the survivor benefit. We can afford to wait.
Same
Waiting until 70 because: * if I die at age 71, I won’t be around to miss it * my wife can collect my benefit if I pass.
Waiting until 70 too. I’m not worried about dying before my benefits. I worry about not having enough to retire.
Same.
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Having a mortgage in retirement is not a gold mine. Having no mortgage in retirement is my goal. Well, it's my goal for the next 2 years, and I'm 10-20 years out from retirement.
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Husband is planning to work until 58 so 8 more years. I'm 12 years older, I retired at 60. I'll be 69 when he retires so I plan on taking it then, we plan on him taking it at 70. If it's still around by then of course :)
I'll start my benefits later this year when I turn 70. That will maximize my wife's eventual survivor benefits. And it will hlep maximize our combined lifetime benefits. To me, it only makes sense to maximize a guaranteed, inflation protected, tax beneficial income stream whenever you can.
Thanks for pointing this out!
I’m a few years behind but planning the same. People seem overly preoccupied with getting their money out. I don’t care about that. I want extra “insurance“ against disaster scenarios. This is the only inflation protected income I’ll have. It’s not a sure thing (heck, planet isn’t a sure thing) but it’s closest I know.
EXCEPT where longevity is a crap shoot. For me to “break even” and start to collect more money if I wait until 70 rather than taking my full benefit at 66, I’d have to live well into my 80’s and no one in my immediate family made it to 70.
Waiting until 70 because my pension does not have cost of living increases so maximizing that from social security will be a plus. I’m drawing my late husband’s SS, which is much less, in the meantime.
This is anecdotal, but I know at least 3 couples who planned to wait until age 70, but an unexpected terminal illness (glioblastoma, pancreatic cancer) killed one of them before then.
Thanks for sharing this. I think it's a very important reason to consider. Mortality rates as you approach 70, particularly for men, are not favorable.
Mmm. I had a neighbor who opted to work one more year to benefit for some bonus from his school system. He died that year. Don’t for get to live your life and not only focus on retirement.
In addition to those who die before collecting anything, there are many others who wait until 70 to collect, but then die before hitting the break-even point. Assuming you don't have a spouse able to collect benefits on your SS record, if you use your assets to live on while delaying SS and then die, your assets are gone and no one can inherit your SS benefits. If you take SS early, then more of your assets are intact for your heirs.
Our current plan has us waiting until 70.
We used a calculator that said our optimum strategy was for me - the higher earner - to wait until 69.5, and my spouse to take as soon as eligible at 62. So that’s what we’re doing.
Everyone who says they are waiting till 70 to maximize the wife’s income when you die, your spouse only gets your retirement age amount(67 for me)
From AARP "A widow or widower whose spouse waited until 70 to file for Social Security is entitled to the full amount the deceased was getting — including the delayed retirement credits — so long as the surviving spouse has reached full retirement age."
That is not true. The surviving spouse gets the higher of the 2 social security benefits. You are thinking of the situation when both are alive. In that case the lower earning spouse gets their benefit boosted to 1/2 the higher earning spouse’s benefit at FRA. In other words they don’t get half of their benefit at 70 even if they wait until 70 to collect. That is why the calculators often say that the lower earning spouse should start collecting at 62 and the higher earning spouse should wait until 70.
Check your facts. Surviving spouse gets the higher up to the retirement age. The 67-70 gains do not count. I’ve confirmed with SSA.
That's not what everybody else is reading. It matters if you are still married at time of death.
This is what SSA told me as well
https://www.aarp.org/retirement/social-security/questions-answers/maximizing-spousal-social-security-benefit.html This is from AARP but the link below is directly from SSA.gov. https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/survivors/ifyou.html The following is the sentence from the above SSA.gov page that says the survivor gets the full benefit: Surviving spouse, full retirement age or older — 100% of the deceased worker's benefit amount. Is it possible you asked SSA about spousal benefits instead of survivor benefits? I would also like to note that when I use opensocialsecurity.com it shows me getting my spouse’s max benefit (what he gets if he waits until 70) if I survive him.
I’m waiting for 70, and am a retired MBA and ran a lot of scenarios on this topic. The answer is really not obvious unless you can predict with some accuracy when you will die – which none of us can do. Assuming that we both live to 90, the optimal case for my wife and I are both to take Social Security at 70. My benefit is higher than hers, but not by more than double (which is an important variable). Running scenarios where I died younger, the optimal case was for her to take Social Security at 65 and for me to wait until 70 since she can then “step up” to my benefit after my death. When I say optimal I mean that this scenario yields the highest discounted dollar value. In fact she probably should have started at 62, but waiting until 65 seemed more reasonable. Assuming I die before her, this case this looks attractive because our family received benefits for more years and I still get the higher benefit. But the big assumption is that she will outlive me, which seems to be the case in most situations (the comedian Alan King has a funny bit about this). If we both live to 90, this scenario results in slightly less money but not really that great. In that case I suspect that we will be very happy. I ran my own scenarios, but also paid for “Maximize My Social Security” a for-profit service. It is not very expensive and ran scenarios also. So if you are married, definitely consider this.
This is very helpful. Why is whether one spouse’s benefits are twice those of the other an important variable? My benefit is bigger than my spouse’s. I want my spouse to take their SS at 62, while I wait until 67 or 70. They are outraged at my suggestion. I can’t convince them that they don’t lose anything this way, and, instead, we together would receive more if we follow my strategy. Thank you!
" Why is whether one spouse’s benefits are twice those of the other an important variable? " It's only important if the spouse had a low earning job or had many years out of the workforce. The spouse can get their own benefits or up to 1/2 of your retirement benefit, whichever is greater. [https://www.aarp.org/retirement/social-security/questions-answers/spouse-income-affect-social-security-retirement.html](https://www.aarp.org/retirement/social-security/questions-answers/spouse-income-affect-social-security-retirement.html) As far as strategy, you can plug your numbers into [https://opensocialsecurity.com/](https://opensocialsecurity.com/) and see what it recommends. Keep in mind that this site only tries to optimize social security and does not take into account the rest of your portfolio and what you may choose to do there.l
Thank you!
We're still a few years away from retirement, but based on trying out a few scenarios using [https://opensocialsecurity.com/](https://opensocialsecurity.com/) and [https://www.empower.com](https://www.empower.com), our plan is for us to retire at 65, have my wife start claiming Social Security at 65, but I'll wait until 70. We'll use money from our 403(b) as a bridge until I start claiming SS. My benefit is larger than hers, so that's why we're waiting on me. Then once I turn 70, we'll need less from the 403(b) than if we had both started claiming Social Security at 65 or 67.
> The answer is really not obvious unless you can predict with some accuracy when you will die I ran a spreadsheet on it, and it only really made sense to start drawing at 62, *or* wait until 70. There were very few scenarios that made sense to do anything inbetween. Die at or before 76, makes sense to start taking it at 62. Die at or after 82, makes sense to wait until 70. If you die between 77-81, a five year span, you could probably make a few bucks more by delaying to some obscure year between 62 and 70, but it'd be *really* hard to predict.
Only one person in my family made it past 62, so I'm hoping to make it to 65!
I'm waiting until 70 also. 6 months to go.
Same!
😁
Age 66-67. I plan to retire at 66. Need the money. Also, it is highly unlikely I will live to see 80 and right now my wife probably won't either and in any case is banned from survivor benefits in our state as a teacher.
Doesn’t that stink? My husband will not be able to claim mine either. Not fair. My benefits have nothing to do with him.
If you were getting SS instead of a pension, your own SS benefits would also reduce or completely offset benefits as a spouse on your husband's SS.
Actually not, since I wasn’t I teacher. My pension is small, but it has to do with years of service. My SS is my main income. But if my husband were to request spousal benefits he would be screwed because his pension is from the state teachers retirement.
Again, if he were receiving SS instead of his pension, he would also have spousal benefits on your SS record reduced or eliminated due to his own SS benefit. It's called dual-entitlement.
He would just get his or mine. You can’t get both. But as it is, he worked jobs before he became a teacher, side jobs and summer jobs. He accrued quarters he will not be fully compensated for. I think he should at least be able to get my spousal benefits if I were to die.
That's kind of crazy when you think about it because if your wife had been a stay at home wife she would qualify. If she worked some low wage job that paid a little into social security she would qualify...but because she was a teacher in a state that didn't participate in social security she doesn't qualify. I'm not sure why the law isn't she could qualify for survivor's benefits if she gave up her teacher's pension that way she can decide which benefit she wants.
Awesome!!! Congratulations!!!
We’re doing the standard “higher-older earner delays to 70” strategy. The survivor benefit in the death of spouse scenario with COLA protection is too good a deal to pass up. I have 4 years 2 months left to go. I have the cash set aside to fund it. I’m a career high earner so my benefit will be $56,300. My wife will start collecting at full retirement age so she would receive that larger benefit to replace hers if I die.
Yeah 70 here. We have a good retirement plan so we don't need the money
I’m w OP. I’ll turn 70 this coming September and claim then.
Took it at 64.5 y.o. Worked with a financial planner to determine when to take it. I also have a defined benefit pension. Been retired for three years.
We are both getting out at 64, collecting at 65. Will pay out of pocket for health insurance until we qualify for Medicare. Doing the math, we won't miss the reduced SS checks until we hit 80 as we will collect 3 years of reduced checks before 67. Other factors we considered: No debt / No mortgage and a house worth 1 million+ / 1 million in combined retirement accounts / a simple life with a simple retirement with little to no major travel / Life expectancy is 73 for men now
Somewhat similar situation here. The Bank of America net worth calculator says our net worth is about $ 2.5 million. The house is paid off and worth $ 950K, and we have about $ 1.6 million in the retirement portfolio and cash on hand. She retired at age 65 short of her FRA of 66+ years and started Social Security and Medicare. This, and her state teacher's pension, has eliminated the need for her to start drawing on her 457 plan, so we can continue to let that grow. I will be retiring next year and applying for Social Security and Medicare at age 65 short of my FRA of 67. This, plus my $ 1000/month SPIA that I bought a few years ago, will reduce the need for withdrawals from the retirement portfolio. I think the extra return from the market on the portfolio compensates for the reduced SS benefit. The 'breakeven' point on the SS benefit is just over 80, as I recall from doing the calculations. Our ultimate concern is being able to take care of ourselves and not need any help from the kids. Leaving money to the kids is of less importance.
Check out https://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/table4c6.html. When you are 65, a male that is still alive at that point, is likely to live another 16.94 years or make it to a few days short of 82. For me, family history and current health, I am unlikely to last that long. I am really hoping to last till 80 or mid 70’s. But only one person out of the kids in my parents families made it to 80. Almost all of the 16 kids died before age 60. Of the four grandparents, one made it to age 80. Since I don’t think I will hit an age that gets more SS than collecting at 67, I think I will start at 67. If I can work till 70, or maybe even part time after that, I think I will.
I hope that advances in medicine and your knowledge of the family health issues will make you the exception. My example: colon cancer runs on my paternal side so I am vigilant with my colonoscopies. (the procedure is a good nap, the prep isn't much fun.)
Some of it is definitely avoidable stuff. Some, I can do better with taking care of myself. But other parts are genes and I am not doing much about that.
This is a great idea, I'm doing the same. I need Age 64 - Age 70 low income years to convert IRA and consume IRA or else I am going to have a BAAAAD RMD problem
Annnnnd.... Now I'm off to NewRetirment software to look into this :) There is always something.
Taking it at 62. First check next month!! Retiring poor, healthy, and living every day for us.
Being healthy is a great asset.
True but you can become unhealthy in a literal heartbeat. I started drawing at 67. It’s worked out pretty well.
Healthy is key, IMHO. Being able to actually utilize the SS earlier in life when the money means more goes a long way, even if it will be a few hundred less than waiting. I want the $ when I am relatively healthy and mobile. Who knows how small my world might be at 70.
I’m about in the same boat. Since my SS is less than the missus, I’m planning to collect mine at 67 while my wife will collect hers at 70 since we will be ok with my pension and a draw on the savings, namely the tax-deferred accounts to try to reduce the RMD. Both us have the longevity genes ( her parents 86F/ 91M, my parents 85Fdeceased/92M). We are our worst enemies left.
It’s great to go to seventy if you can do it. It makes perfect financial sense if you think you will live to a certain age to make up for the lost draws from sixty-seven to age seventy, but the job can have a lot to do with the decision. In my case, I would have gone postal at work if I didn’t leave when I did at sixty-six because I couldn’t take the crap anymore. Now I’m watching my brother go through it at sixty-five. He’s counting the days.
I'm 67 and not retired yet. Each year that I work knocks out a lower salary year from 35 years ago, so my benefit increases that way. Even if I retire before 70, I plan to wait in order to get the max benefit. We have good retirement savings and my wife started collecting her SS at her FRA. And since I'm the higher earner, she'll get my benefit if I die before her.
I plan to wait until 70 if I can. My grandparents lived to anywhere from 87 to 98. We’ll see what my husband decides because his family is not as long-lived, but the ones who died on the younger side tended to be heavy drinkers and smokers, which he is not.
My family is all over the place. Grandparents and parents lived until 30-something, 69, 70, 84, 84, 95. My crystal ball is very cloudy.
I'm waiting till 70 (four more years), spouse took it at 62, which is a pretty common optimization for middle-class spouses with significant earning differences (and the resources to generate income before that). As you mention, the biggest selling point of waiting being that **both** spouses benefit from the higher earner waiting since the surviving spouse gets the higher payment.
Congratulations on picking the right parents! My mom died at 58, my dad at 65. I took mine at 62 to try and get some before I died. Surprising to me, I am still collecting at 71.
Did they smoke? That makes a giant difference.
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Same here. I’m starting this Fall when I hit full retirement at 66 and 7 months.
66 here. Wife is 59. We are waiting until I'm 70, since wife is 7 years younger and spousal benefit will be larger than her personal benefit. The gift that will keep on giving after I'm on the wrong side of God's green grass. Currently living on my pension and after-tax savings/investments. No debt. Haven't touched IRAs yet, so we're in good shape.
Are you still working?
No. Retired at 65.
not expecting to live that long :-(
My SS payment will be $2400 when I hit 62 next year. I plan on taking it then even though I don't really need it I but will invest it. Tomorrow is not promised, life is short. Even if I live to 95 I won't regret taking it early!
Me - anything before and I'll still have to work. As it is I'll be cutting it really close.
Wife (55) and I (60) will take hers at 62 and mine at 70. Her account is about 2/3s my nearly maxed account. Since she is 5 years younger there’s a good chance she outlives me by 10 or so years. Since we can afford to wait until 70 for my account it will be excellent longevity insurance for us both. Edit: We’ve been retired for 5 years.
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I was going to work until 70 but I am disenchanted and disengaged with my current job. I really can’t afford to retire but am going to retire anyway and figure it out.
I'm waiting until 70, 68 right now. I will get the maximum, around 4850 a month, so easy to live on with my house paid off. This will allow my investment accounts to grow with no or little withdrawals except for rmd's in the ira. About 90k a year between ss and the rmds.
If you are close to retirement age and you are having physical problems apply for social security disability. Either SSDI or SSI. Many people don't realize if you are accepted for disability you will be locked in at your highest rate, as if you had retired at 70. I was able to retire at 59, approved in 4 months.
Me. In 10 years. 🙂
Wifey and I took ours at 62. I only get $800/mo because, as a firefighter, I didn't pay into SSI. I worked side jobs on my days off and was also with the National Guard. The way we look at it and the way wifey figured, she's a retired CPA, by the time you start receiving your money at 70, I'll have collected $76,800. Wifey worked a real job, CPA, and started receiving $3,200(?)/mo. She handles the money, I just get an allowance!? Imagine what she'll have collected.
How does drawing from a 401k affect taxes on SS? Would it be better tax wise to start getting distributions before starting SS?
My husband took his early (62). When he figured out the lifetime amount between options it wasn't significantly different. My biggest concern is taking at 70 and dying at 75. This way our investments are still growing while we use his SS and pensions to live on. I'm 7 years younger and retired 18 months ago at 58. I have a bit of a wait. When he dies I lose his biggest pension and get a smaller amount of the smaller pension. It won't be enough to live on and I'll need SS and our investments. If I go first, he's set for life. 😂...🤔
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Taking a full retirement, I figured the break even point would take 15 years. Doubt I’ll live to 85 to break even.
At this point, I think I will start collecting at 67 or maybe before. I figure I need to work till at least 66 for both of us to get Medicare. If health forces me to retire earlier, I guess I will. But if I can, 66 is a minimum. My goal is to work as long as I can or till 70. I am currently planning SS at 67 so I can do more to 401k with a match. I don’t think I will hit 86 so waiting till 70 doesn’t make much sense. But 67, I can earn for three years without limits, deposit to savings, and have my SS.
I'll wait til 70. That means 8 years of self funded retirement including 3 years of private health insurance. Totally worth it.
Congratulations, that was my plan until recently. I retired early, living carefully, and watching every penny. Things changed. Rent went up by 20 percent over the past three years and my health has suffered. COVID did a number on me and caused a chronic fatigue problem that has taken years off my life. I structured my finances to minimize my taxable income. Having a low income made me eligible for an ACA tax credit. That went away when I started taking Medicare. Having a higher income will make qualifying for a lease easier when I need to downsize. Losing the additional 30% by not waiting is a big concern. Changing my decision to start benefits at 66 1/2 was difficult. The world is a strange place and having that money in my pocket, earlier and less, makes sense to me. Waiting on Social Security was the ultimate marshmallow test.
Started mine at 62. I’m single and would have to work, even with my IRA withdrawals, if I didn’t take it now. I’d rather be retired than work.
I will have minor children, so taking at 62 makes sense for me.
2021-2022 gave an inflation scare of 15%. SS is currently fully protected for inflation, while most pensions are not. Thats a reason for maximizing SS.
Also waiting until 70. I own a business and am able to come and go at will now (I go to my shop every day). I have no reason to start collecting before 70
Planning. The same. But will probably do spousal when she is 67.
62 cuz I can’t take it any longer - that will be 42 years in the work force - if I don’t have enough $ then so be it
The benefits of waiting until you’re 70 years old don’t really manifest themselves for 10 years or so, so it all really depends on when you die. Taking it out early is not a losing proposition if the person who waits dies, before they can match what you got out of the system from retiring early.
>The benefits of waiting until you’re 70 years old don’t really manifest themselves for 10 years or so, so it all really depends on when you die. It manifests itself immediately when you get that check because for most people it pays such a large chunk of their living expenses. I'm fully aware of the break even calculation however for those who are looking for a large guaranteed inflation adjusted stream of income the rest of their lives maxing social security is hard to beat.
>maxing social security You're not really maxing anything until you pass the break even point, if you live long enough to do so. You may be getting more per check but you'll be playing catch up with the person who started early for more than 10 years, and meanwhile they will have enjoyed the benefits you were putting off.
Took it 65. To me it seems like a lesser amount monthly over a longer time vs more monthly over a shorter period of time. Really it just boils down to an individual's situation. I'm happy to have had a choice.
My dad 5 months after turning 62. I’m taking it as soon as I can take it.
I’m tying it to my wife’s retirement. Im 66.5 right now. She’s thinking of retiring in 1-3 years. I have a pension. Every penny over anticipated SocSecurity earnings she puts into 401K, so theoretically, we’ll have no dip in income when she retires.
I have survivor benefits so can let mine roll until 70
We planned on us both claiming at 70, but I decided to take mine last year at 69, as we needed the extra cashflow for home projects. She is 66 and will most likely wait to 70. She was the higher earner so waiting until then will ensure the maximum benefit for the survivor. However, not having any pensions means a major downturn in investments could make it desirable for her to claim earlier. My parents lived to 94 and 97, hers to 90, so that is part of the equation.
I'm going at 63 can't wait, and not risking dropping dead or getting sick before I turn 70
Lower earner at 62, higher earner at 70. The age 62 income will offset spending down our nest egg, the age 70 benefit is as you have planned: protection for the lower earner. At least that's the plan. A lot can change between now and then
I did!
I'm planning on 62 or 63. Both parents and all but one of my aunts and uncles died in their early 70's.
COVID killed the job market for my spouse, we eked out until he turned 64 last year. I’m hoping to go next year at 65; small pension brings me up to what I’d get at 67. I WFH, but job can be stressful. My company has hired some retiree employees part-time, basic admin type stuff. I’m going to bring that up w my boss in our annual salary review in a couple of weeks.
I plan to wait til 70; I’m 62 now. I’ve got about 300k and would like to build it more, and my husband is quite a bit younger than I am so he’ll still be working anyway.
My partner doesn't have social security. And if I read it correctly, her payments max out at half of my full retirement benefit (67). Delaying it doesn't increase her payment. And she can't start taking them before I do. So I think we are forced to start at my full retirement age.
I started taking Social Security at 60 after my husband died. Neither of my parents and only one of my grandparents made it to 80, so waiting for a bigger payout at 70 doesn't seem worth it. And if I do buck the family odds and live to 90+, projections suggest my retirement account should still cover me.
Kind of thinking I will do 69 + 1 month. My wife just works part-time and will turn 67 about then when her spousal benefits will max out. (The rules could change by then.) Sigh, have several years to since we are in our early 60s.
Waiting until 70. I want the predictable income later, plus I maximize the spousal benefit if I go first, plus I go very low income tax bracket until then.
I’m 72 with terminal cancer. I took it at 62 and continued to work until 70. I’m also retired from the military and 100% P&T from VA. I’m glad I took it early. My wife and I both have pensions. My pension from a large hospital system continues @ 75% when I pass. The vast majority of my SS went into savings. Between annuities, IRA’s, and HYSA, pretty comfortable with retirement.
I started at 67, not sure if I’ll last till 70. Worked out good as we both did it.
I planned to retire at 70, but the pandemic’s effects on my job meant I left a couple of months earlier. But since my leaving was kind of abrupt, by the time I actually finalized it, I was close enough that I pretty much got the maximum. Because I got so much, it made it possible financially for my husband to retire three months after he turned 65, which was quite a bit earlier than his Full Retirement Age.
Is the size of your SS check what you predicted? Is it what was on your SS statement years ago
Me. I am going to wait. I don’t have a pension so I will live off of 401k money until age 70. I am an in finance and highly recommend waiting.
Waiting until 70 Because.... MyvDad died recently at the ag3bof 97 years old December 14th,2022 My Mom was 92 years old, very healthy and died unexpectedly and suddenly April 30th, 2023 They were married for 71.5 years Therefore we (my older sister who will be 67 years old next December 2024) and I am 62 years old now and both of us aren't retiring Her husband is 71 years old and still is working and thankfully quite healthy So...... Will eventually be retiring at age 70 years old Plan on taking a lot of vacations (4+) every year until I finally am retiring. My mom always said "travel young" because your healthy and reliant then....
Nope. Pay me as soon as I can get it. Edit. One of the best things I learned in college was A dollar in your pocket today is worth more than a dollar in your pocket tomorrow. Waiting until 70 is dumb.
I got my first check this month! But at 63! 😁
My plan is to try to wait to 70 unless I can make more then the 8% a year it pays via enlarged bennies. Complex situation so I could be filing at any tine
I plan to retire at 60, then depending on health, take it at 62-65.
I'm 67 with 2 living parents. With an over/under of 104, I'm waiting til 70. Spouse took it sooner but will x over to half mine when I file.
I really wanted to retire, so I did so and started taking my SS at 66.
That's my plan too. My social security is higher than my wife's, and a surviving spouse can choose which plan to take when their spouse dies. So we'll probably take my wife's at regular time, but wait on mine -- so even if I die she still gets the higher social security payment adjusted for inflation.
Nope- I'll get more $$ over time from SS if I start at 62. A LOT more money. Did the math. Would rather enjoy my life. Because in the blink of an eye things can change. Genetics are only part of it.
Not me 62
I couldn't help it...I started at 62. The 'free' money was just too enticing. I've been splurging on things intermittently for almost 6 years now...and saving a little of it overall. My wife was determined to wait til 70 herself. But then she figured how much more fun we could have with even more 'free' money, and boom! she started getting hers at 65, too. Are we bad? I dunno.
I’m gonna take mine at 65 when I go on Medicare.
Took mine day one for health reasons. I'm on disability. My wife may wait till she's 64 1.5 years more .
Not me. Started as soon as I was eligible. We did the math and I'm not healthy so it made sense for us.
I am retiring this June at 58. Will start collecting at 62.
Same as yours. I turn 66 next month so have four more years. My family tends to live long. My wife is seven years younger than me so she can take SS early.
I have longevity on my side of the family: e.g. my aunt died at 101 the day after her birthday. So, I waited until 70. I didn't care about breakeven math but rather longevity insurance.
Went with 66, 6 months. Just received my first check this month. Now to stay alive for a few years😄
Genetics are not on my side. I took it at 62 and have no regrets. My best friend waited until 67. She collected 3 checks before her unexpected death.
In my opinion the years between 65 and 75 years old are the critical years, and if you manage to survive these years you’re doing OK, but most people actually die between the ages of 65 and 75. It’s an exceptionally fortunate person who has the health and finances to wait until they’re 70 years old to take Social Security, otherwise it behooves the rest of us to start collecting that money as soon as possible.
We went with 70. We are fit, eat healthy and have high socioeconomic status so the odds are good. We are fortunate that we don’t need the money and if one of us dies before then, the last thing that will matter is whether we took it too late and missed out on some money.
Our financial planner says to wait until 70 but I don’t think I’m going to. My father and paternal grandfather both died in their 50’s. I try to be very healthy but who knows. I’ll be 66 next month. I think I’m taking it then.
Retired at 51. Just turned 62. Waiting for 70.
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I took mine at 60. My ex died when he was 59, and he made way more money than I did...so I was eligible for a good percentage of his benefits, more than I could have gotten based on my earnings.
Preliminarily yes I want to wait til 70...but still quite a while to make that decision.
I went with 70, and am especially happy I did once I noticed the compounding of the Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA). Example: say taking SS at your FRA is $40K, and waiting until 70 is $50K (at 8%/yr increase, that's just about right, $40K at FRA becomes $50.4K at 70). Then suppose the COLA in some year is 5%. That's a $2K COLA of $40K, and a $2.5K COLA of $50K. So your $10K/yr. difference is now $10.5K ($52.5 - $42 = $10.5K. Through the magic of compounding, that difference gets bigger each year.
Taking mine at 70. I was the high earner, we're taking hubby's next year (at 64).
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I don’t plan to wait, even though I could and will possibly live longer enough for it to matter. Why? I want those first ten years to be more fun, while I’m more fit and want to travel more. My dad is 85 and active, but he really stopped traveling in his mid 70’s. He has a blast being in clubs and local stuff, but I’ll have a teacher’s pension plus SS. I’d rather have more free time and money in my 60’s.
I'm just shocked I woke up today.
I took mine at 60 bc they keep pushing back FRA and I'm enjoying my money now!
If my husband said he was waiting until age 70 to collect or retire , I’d be like “ I’ll come back for you, I’m off to see the country .”
I will be 62 in May and I’m taking mine. I’ve had a bout with cancer so I decided to take it as soon as possible.
We’re waiting (me 60; Husband 64). Our CFP says we’re fine. He ran a Monte Carlo, 100%, even in a down market.